Being Vegan, Vegan Being : Simone Simpson – A Carrot on a Surfboard Down Under!

My name is Simone Simpson, I am 36 years old and I live on the Gold Coast, Australia.

So far in my life I have mainly worked for myself, I started my first business when I was 20 which was a personal training studio “Look Great Naked”. My second business was ‘The Colonic Clinic’ (which I sold in April this year) I used that business as a tool to help people connect with what is actually real food/fuel (🍌🍉🍇🍍) and what is making them sick with all their digestive issues (🌭🍕🍼🍳🍗🧀) – this was a very powerful tool. Now I help spread the good vibes and vegan awareness through our ethical clothing/brand “VEGAN FROTHERZ FOUNDATION”.

Vegan Frotherz was created one day when myself and one of my best friends (Blake Herlihy) had shared a few too many coffees and we were having one of those moments of overexcitement of how many problems being vegan/ living vegan can solve. We were literally ‘frothing’ on the idea of veganism and in that moment of excitement we created the idea of “Vegan Frotherz” – we decided to create a brand, that gives off a good vibration about living VEGAN – our logo is a guy/girl with a carrot as a surfboard.

So essentially we are surfing carrots, living the good life and we are all about having a good time/living in the moment fully amped, we want to show the whole world that living/thriving as a vegan is ALL good, there are no negatives, the way this lifestyle helps human health, the health of our planet and the lives of animals. This is our definition of what it means to be a “Vegan Frother.”

There are three of us that create the Vegan Frotherz Foundation – me, my husband – Shane Simpson and our best friend Blake Herlihy. The sale of our ethical clothing contributes to two animal sanctuaries – Sugarshine Farm Sanctuary & Save a Cow Sanctuary. We feel that animal sanctuaries have a very powerful role in helping mass population connect with animals as friends not food- once people meet these animals or see them for what they are (living, sentient beings) They are more likely to connect to Veganism. We also put events on such as “Froth Fest” – our live music/food festival -with the goal in mind to get as many non- vegans as possible to them to show them that we are enjoying life with good food and music without the cruelty and how easy it is to live vegan 🙂

So yeah- Vegan Frotherz raises the money for the sanctuaries, the good vibes & awareness for the people✌🏻

On a personal level, I have just recently started entering fitness/sports model shows and training hard again after many years off competing.

I want to help women my age (and all ages) see that we can be fit and healthy while causing the absolute LEAST amount of harm to animals as possible. Feeling good on the outside AND inside, as many sports/ fitness models don’t feel good on the inside, whether it is because of their digestive issues or their conscience, due to the number of animals they consume.

Cook oats in purified water (throw a chopped date in the mix) *I also use a few drops of ‘’coconut’ stevia drops “Sweet Drops” is my preferred brand*

Once cooked pour into bowl, throw 150grams of frozen or fresh blueberries on top then a half scoop (20g) Chocolate vegan protein powder – I use Prana On. Splash some rice/oat milk over the top until it is at your preferred consistency – dust with cinnamon and you’re laughing! – Yum! – This is something I eat most days now – preparing for a comp or not! It is so easy and tasty!

What does living cruelty-free mean to me?

Living cruelty-free is the absolute LEAST I can do – it means every day I make conscious decisions when buying or doing anything, it is a simple question to myself in every situation of “who can I help with this choice”. When purchasing food or clothing I feel its important to vote with my wallet and make sure I am helping those that are making a difference get the financial reward, rather than help those who are not making a positive difference continue to be funded.

Talk about a time when I struggled with my veganism?

To be really honest when it came to eating or consuming animal products, once I found out the truth of where products came from it was very simple and ZERO struggle to let go of actually giving up anything – the only time I have struggled with Veganism is with feeling so incredibly connected to what is happening to our planet and the animals that are abused/tortured & killed for humans to use/eat, that knowing family/friends/loved ones are still part of this and not understanding that they can actually live a happy healthy existence without their consumption of animals and using their body parts for things. Feeling so connected to the truth and our environmental situation has often left me feeling an incredible disconnect to my family or those that are still part of the problem. When we have SO much evidence and information in this day/age, yet the choices made from them is to STILL continue to support the cruelty, has left me with no choice but to distance myself… it is just simply too hard for me to bear witness to their contribution to these things. So much of my time and energy goes into helping people make the connection and live vegan when it comes to expelling energy or surrounding myself with those that are still choosing to be part of the problem, it seems counterproductive to me. Being ignorant is one thing, however, I have spent so much time sharing information and trying to help friends/ family make the connection that watching them blatantly choose to STAY ignorant is an entirely different position to stay in. Not only are they making these daily choices that are part of the problem, but also mocking those that are making a great change in this world.

What is your favorite vegan non-food product?

My favorite Vegan non-food product would have to be “Butt Naked” body scrubs – There is a mint/choc smelling one that is ridiculously good.

What is the toughest Vegan item to find when I need?

As long as I have clothing and food, there really isn’t much that I need.

One question to other Vegans – what is it in YOU that is unique and a helpful way to help the mass population make a connection with animals not being here for us to use/abuse?

For myself I would say that being a strong/fit & the healthiest version of myself (by competing in fitness shows) is a way I can successfully help many make that connection/being physical proof that we can live happily & healthy – because we are in a world where people are drawn to visually looking at others and gaining inspiration from that. This is where I am at for now, I have no doubt as I continue to grow/ learn, there will be other ways in my future. I plan to perform stand up comedy/ activism in the future.